For the month of May, we’re kicking off Video Game Movie Month, where every week we take on a new film adaptation of a video game!
This week, we (along with guest Ryan Bond) wrap up Video Game Movie Month with the infamous film Super Mario Bros. The Movie! A completely wackadoo adaptation of the Nintendo game series featuring everyone’s favorite plumbers, this film sees Mario (Bob Hoskins) and Luigi (John Leguizamo) becoming lost in a Blade Runner-esque dystopian dimension full of weird fungus, goth-club fashion and trolley/snowplow cars. Lost in a strange middle ground between campy fun and dark/gritty treatment of the material, the film simply doesn’t know what to do with itself, and its behind-the-scenes drama is a good enough story on its own. Listen to us dive into this pile of crap with our custom cocktail and drinking rules!
(EDITING NOTE: The drink name accidentally got dropped in the ‘cast itself, but we have it for you in the recipe below. Sorry about that!)
LISTEN HERE OR DOWNLOAD:
THIS EPISODE’S DRINK: The Other Castle
Super Mario Bros. The Movie‘s underground setting gave us the inspiration for this martini variant, with mushrooms, bell peppers and other earthly flavors. We also threw in some citrus in there for some much-needed lightness and sweetness, but be warned; this is a very dry martini.
1 white mushroom, sliced
1 slice each of green and yellow bell pepper
3-4 fresh basil leaves
1 part akvavit
1 part limoncello
splash, lemon juice
6 parts vodka
1) Muddle mushroom, bell peppers, and basil till broken down (add the akvavit to help provide some lubrication).
2) Add remaining ingredients and ice in shaker; stir to combine.
3) Pour straight into martini glass (we didn’t, but you can feel free to run drink through a fine mesh strainer to get out the muddled vegetables) and garnish with mushrooms.
DRINKING RULES FOR SUPER MARIO BROS.:
- Any time someone calls the Mario Bros. “plumbers”
- Whenever you see a new set of spikes (costumes, set design, etc.)
- Every time Alan Silvestri’s overly jaunty, horribly mismatched score kicks in
FINISH YOUR DRINK WHEN:
Luigi says, “Trust the fungus!”
Join us next week as we dip back into the realm of good movies with the 1970s Peter Sellers film Being There!
